What a weekend….

This year has started with a bang! If things keep going like this I may have to have a seatbelt installed everywhere I sit. LOL!

This past week has been a real stretch for me in the realm of writing. The fact that I’m writing still boggles my mind. Never would I have imagined that I would be writing never mind submitting written pieces to be published and put out there.

But, that is exactly what has happened. A friend of mine, who also has a blog, has asked me to write for her blog on Thursdays, so you will find me over there, as well as here on that day.

It is this past weekend however, that really has me floored. I ended up submitting a post to SheLoves Magazine about a week ago. Normally I wouldn’t be so brazen but I was encouraged to consider doing that by a friend who is actively involved there.

Pardon?

I wasn’t sure I heard her right. Who was I to submit to that site? Everyone who had ever written for it seemed so much more together, had been writing for ages, and had some sort of theological training (or so it seemed).

In the end I did write something, with some strong encouragement from said friend and my hubby. I sent it in thinking that I did what was asked, but not holding onto any real belief that it would be or could be used. Imagine my surprise when I found an email saying that they wanted to use it and could I please have any edits done by Thursday as they would like to post it on Friday.

Say what?

Um…..okay?!

Three edits later it was ready for publication. I was so nervous about it all that I hardly slept the night before. By 4 a.m. I had given up on sleeping and decided to troll the site to see if it was up. Sure enough, there it was by-line and all.

I must admit I had a ‘moment’ and tried desperately not to wake up my still slumbering husband. My heart was pounding and I felt tears threaten. Throughout the day I found myself going back again and again, scarcely able to believe it. I don’t think I accomplished much that day.

By the end of the day I felt a wee bit like Sally Fields did back in 1985 when she finally won an Oscar. “You like me! You really like me!” The number of tweets and Facebook likes astonished me. They also scared me, I mean, what if I don’t measure up next time? Next time?! Oh lord…that set off another round of nerves and angst. Seriously, I was a mess.

Saturday was my birthday and it was spent going to get my driver’s license renewed, going to a memorial service and then heading off to church. My birthday blessings came in the form of the all the wonderful birthday wishes that were sent my way over Facebook and in person. We ended the day by going out for dinner with friends, who then told us in no uncertain terms that dinner was on them. It was perfect. No really, it was.

Sunday dawned, and we had to take my sister-in-law to work. While waiting for her I received a tweet notification on my phone and received one of the biggest surprises of my life! My little post for SheLoves made Rachel Held Evan’s Sunday Superlatives post as ‘Most Encouraging’!! I was absolutely floored, and I started to cry. My poor hubby didn’t quite know what to do with me. I was one hot mess.

After this past weekend, I am not sure what God has in store for me for this year. It felt like He had, just for a moment, opened a spotlight from heaven over me. I feel humbled, blessed, & stunned (okay mostly stunned).

I don’t know where this will all lead and to be honest I don’t know if I really want to know; if I did I might be frozen in my tracks by fear.

This verse came to mind as I pondered this weekend:

The Lord your God in your midst,The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zeph 3:17

Perhaps the events of this past weekend were God rejoicing over me, singing over me. Not because I’m anyone special, but just because He loves me and was proud of me stepping out and doing what He wanted me to do.

My friends, He will do the same for you. He aches to do it. Just reach for Him, listen to what He has to say, and step out in faith. Will it be easy to do? Not always, but the rewards that follow are second to none.